"Needlestick" is the term applied to the inadvertant puncturing of the skin by the needle of a hypodermic syringe. Accidental needlesticks are of great concern, particularly when the needle previously has been used for injecting, or taking blood samples from, an infected patient. A subsequent inadvertent needlesticking episode may result in the transmission of deadly diseases such as hepatitis, herpes, tuberculosis, venereal diseases, and, of most recent concern: AIDS.
To date, almost all cases of aids transmission to health care workers who are not otherwise in a high risk group, have been caused by needlestick injury. Various expedients heretofore have been proposed for combating this problem.
Syringes have been equipped with retractable sheaths which cover the needle during periods of non-use. Clipping devices have been provided for clipping the needles after use. Syringes have been provided with retractable needles.
The most common practice, however, is to provide hypodermic needles with removable caps that protect the needles and help keep them sterile. The cap is replaceable to cover the used, contaminated needle and prevent accidental needlesticks. sticks.
In spite of this, accidental needlesticks are still of relatively common occurrence. Up to now, in order to recap the needle it has been necessary to hold the cap between the fingers of one hand (or, worse, between the teeth or lips) and, with a puncturing motion advance the needle into the cap. Such "two-handed" recapping leads to puncturing type accidents because of personnel stress, fatigue, time pressure, and related factors.
Even in situations where needle recapping is not practiced, the possibility of injurious contact with used and contaminated needles is not eliminated. There still remains the possibility of such contact with discarded, used needles which have accumulated on instrument trays, counter tops, in sinks, and in refuse containers.
The problem is particularly acute in the practice of dentistry. In such a practice, it is usual to administer the local anesthetic by means of a hypodermic syringe. The injections often are given serially, i.e. at intervals over a period of time. During serial administration it frequently is necessary to recharge the syringe with one or more additional anesthetic cartridges.
These operations require frequent handling of the syringe by the dentist and the dental assistant. If the usual two-handed recapping technique is used between each use episode, the opportunities for the occurrence of a needlestick type injury are multiplied correspondingly.
It is the general purpose of the present invention to prevent the occurrence of needlestick injuries of the type described above.
It is a further important object of the present invention to prevent the occurrence of needlestick injuries by providing a syringe holder which makes mandatory single-handed recapping of the hypodermic needle. Where but a single hand is employed, the possibility of puncturing the skin of the second hand or other body area during recapping obviously is eliminated.
It is a further important object of the present invention to provide an appliance of the class described which is simple in construction, easily mountable on a dental or other medical instrument cart, inexpensive, and adaptable for autoclaving.
Still a further object of the present invention is the provision of a syringe holder which may be associated to advantage with a scalpel holder having like advantages with the result that the hazard attending the use of both of these potentially hazardous implements is eliminated.
The foregoing and other objects of the present invention are achieved by the provision of a syringe holder which, in essence, comprises a base coupled with releasable attaching means for mounting it upon a structural element of a medical instrument cart or other structure. A syringe body support is mounted on the base. A cap support is mounted at one end of the body support, arranged substantially co-axially therewith, with the open end of the support facing inwardly.
Releasable cap securing means is positioned for releasably securing the cap in a position to receive the syringe needle when the syringe body is placed in the syringe body support, to secure the cap when the syringe is removed from the support and to release the cap when the syringe and cap are removed from the support together for disposal after each syringe use. During this sequence, the medical professional need only use one hand. The possibility of needlestick accordingly is eliminated.
Associated with the syringe holder there may be an accompanying scalpel holder functioning in analagous manner.